SSD Thread (Benchmarks, Brands, News, and Advice)

Yeah, it was partially unrelated. I needed to back up anyways and had just started it before I saw your post.

I am posting from a different computer now, while I have the system in safemode what test should I run.

So far I've done "5" "100mb" and I'm doing it on my c drive. Should I try other combinations?

 

OK.

I think that's all.

You could try AS SSD benchmark... or run at 1000MB - but for the Intel's 100MB works too.

 

Thanks for staying with me. Here is a 100mb run in safe mode. Is this any better? I can't seem to find anything that tells me what is good

Regular win 7 x64..(same as posted on last page) for comparison


Safe mode


Safe mode 1000mb

 

Its still a tad slow...

What driver are you on?

The Microsoft AHCI driver?

Try the latest Intel Rapid Storage driver and see if that improves your performance mainly on the 4K speeds.

Also - you are in AHCI mode?
Edit - you must be in AHCI mode, else queued writes would be creeping.

 

I am in AHCI mode in the BIOS. Currently under IDE ATA/ATAPIS in the device manager it says "Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial Ata Controlller".

Is that what you mean? Is the intel driver available on the web * searching *

Edit I think I found it:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18859&ProdId=2101&lang=eng

Once I install this, could I revert back to the MSFT AHCI driver if needed?

 

As far as I am aware you can revert to the MS driver by uninstalling the Intel one - doubt there is a need though.

By the way, this is my SafeMode Benchmark:


In operation I get (on Vista):

 

Thank you, I appreciate it. My understanding is that the Intel Rapid didn't support trim but now it does? Is my link above correct?

I like your numbers, I don't understand how they can be different from drive to drive.

Another question, I have bitlocker enabled on my drives. Would this somehow account for the slowness? I really know exactly how bitlocker interacts but I wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

Apparently it does support Trim - but even if not, you could still trim manually, even if after a few months.

Now Bitlocker - that might account for quite a bit of the discrepancy if you are encrypting the whole drive, not if you encrypt only individual folders.

 

Detlev, I can't say thanks enough you're very kind to help me out.

I am encrypting the whole drive, perhaps this is the first time one could quantify the performance hit of bitlocker. Interestingly my Windows Experience Index is a 7.6 the primary disk performance. I'm leaning towards being happy with it. It is snappy, if it weren't for benchmarks I'd be all set

You brought up one of my questions though: HOW does one trim manually? Is that part of the intel toolbox thing that I saw while searching?

 

I have tried my drive encrypted and not encrypted; Bit Locker slows performance down considerably. Now, I simply have half the drive encrypted for necessary files and pull them up when I need to..

 

Yes, that's the Intel Toolbox

Seems like Bitlocker is your main culprit - although as far as I am aware the Intel driver is still faster.

And you're welcome.

 

Thanks, I may end up doing just that

Downloaded the tool box, I assume "TRIM" is the same thing as "Intel SSD Optimizer".

Also, in the solid state tool box is the "Host Writes" in SMART data the told amount of data that has been written to drive over its whole life?

 

Yes it is indeed

Writes - yes, it'll be going up quite quickly at the start of your usage, things like OS installation etc. and then slow down.

 

You could also look up on that thread, it has plenty of tips and tricks to improve your SSD and computer's speed!

 

Acoustic Mode should be set to Bypass, and read speeds are low because ICH-7M supports only SATA-I (150 MBps, around 135 MB/s in benchmarks).

@John-W.: If Your northbridge is 945GM then southbridge is ICH-7M, so only SATA-I.

I'm confused, should I think or not!

 

hey those of you using 4KB allocation units should try 4GB or larger ReadyBoost on a drive with 4MB, 16MB, 32MB exFAT allocation units. Those using retail OS installs can get a 90-200% throughput boost by raising your allocaiton unit size to 64KB. I ready that SSDs end up doing 200x more read operations on 4KB NTFS allocation units than larger 64KB.

notice mattisdata's post http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/20...ering-the-windows-7-improvements.aspx#9390673

 

Windows 7 doesnt allow you to use readyboost with a SSD

 

u don't need readyboost if u have an SSD anyways..

 

After getting a new SSD, how do you test it to see if it's defective? On old HDD's I used to run sector checks and disk health checks (SMART) etc. What do you recommend for SSD's? (any specific programs?)

Thx

 

For Intel's - Intel Toolbox.

It also reads the Smart data and does diagnostics.

 

X25-V in my Asus 1005ha netbook

 

@jisaac: Do the test again in Safe Mode and post the result....curious.

 

@jisaac: It looks quite good I'd say.

Roughly half the speed of the 80GB one - which is slower than the 160GB one on sequential speeds.

But do the SafeMode run as Les said - then we'll have a real comparison.

This is the 160GB one in SafeMode for comparison:

 

in safe mode:

 

Chkdsk and other health checkers work just fine. And SSDs also have SMART stats.

 

@jisaac: Seems pretty good - considering its a "small budget drive"

Question is though, will they read them out in any meaningful way?
At least CrystalDiskInfo isn't too helpful with SSDs... the Intel Toolbox is much more informative when reading Smart Info...

 

you must remember the southbridge in my netbook is ich7 which limits my ssd to sata I speeds

 

Get the latest version of CDM; version 3.5.5a and you might get better results plus the 4KB QD32 testing.

To answer your question; my results testing my Intel X25-M 160GB Gen2 on Intel SATA driver version 8, then the stock microsoft vista AHCI 1.0 SATA driver, then finally the Intel Rapid Storage version 9 SATA driver. Notice the speed changes and the last 5+ tests are with intel version 9 which I'm currently using. This is a Core 2 Solo SU3500 laptop with Intel Mobile GS45 Series 4 Express chipset.

Code:

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  239.910 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.394 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.255 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  109.680 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.522 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.518 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:03:44
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  249.216 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  107.590 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  183.074 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  108.281 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.833 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   16.971 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:10:03
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  241.607 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.663 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  102.938 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.213 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.541 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.553 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:40:27
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  240.106 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.969 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  179.766 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  108.813 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.480 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.481 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:49:16
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  249.394 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  108.571 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.770 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  109.924 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.791 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   16.997 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:58:42
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  242.485 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.078 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  180.969 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.431 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.538 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.577 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 7:06:09
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  245.113 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.862 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.739 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.273 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.673 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   47.911 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:29:37
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  246.504 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  112.101 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  188.367 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.551 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.008 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   48.044 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:43:28
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  246.424 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.223 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  188.148 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.199 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.242 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   48.137 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:52:07
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  253.616 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  107.624 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  187.929 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.686 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.419 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   40.987 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:56:47
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  245.509 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.660 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.406 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.924 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   15.982 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   48.142 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 10:29:20
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  254.787 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  108.728 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  188.148 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.402 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   15.995 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   40.783 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 10:34:58
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :   245.390 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   112.193 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   184.449 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :   111.807 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    17.066 MB/s [  4166.5 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :    48.052 MB/s [ 11731.4 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :    82.476 MB/s [ 20135.7 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :    74.223 MB/s [ 18120.9 IOPS]

  Test : 50 MB [C: 28.5% (22.7/79.5 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2010/04/08 15:29:04
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :   256.595 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   111.219 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   189.481 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :   111.199 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    16.104 MB/s [  3931.6 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :    41.295 MB/s [ 10081.7 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :    82.742 MB/s [ 20200.7 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :    73.075 MB/s [ 17840.7 IOPS]

  Test : 1000 MB [D: 45.8% (4.6/10.0 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2010/04/08 17:05:16
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :   255.087 MB/s
          Sequential Write :   111.587 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :   188.587 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :   111.089 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :    16.123 MB/s [  3936.2 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :    48.412 MB/s [ 11819.2 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :    82.632 MB/s [ 20173.9 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :    75.405 MB/s [ 18409.4 IOPS]

  Test : 50 MB [D: 45.8% (4.6/10.0 GB)] (x5)
  Date : 2010/04/08 17:14:26
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)

Yep when installing these drives everyone should update their BIOS to the latest version, set the SATA controller in the bios to AHCI or anything higher than IDE/ATA-6, update the SSD firmware to the latest available (intel's latest release is 02HD), install the latest OS service pack, install the latest chipset/INF update-driver-software from your manufacturer, install the latest SATA controller driver from your manufacturer. Those last 2 points think of it as who would know your board best the company that made it or the company attempting to run stuff on it? Manufacturer is the former and microsoft is the latter so get your manufacturer's driver not the Microsoft driver that's compatible with everything similar. Install the latest SSD tool/management software from your SSD manufacturer (Toolbox 1.5 for Intels).

After doing that you should have the best performance possible.

The performance isn't really different from drive to drive it's the chipset/board/OS/drivers that differ from user to user. That's what's giving people large variations in performance.

I want to see someone test out compressing the entire OS drive vs just compressing the pagefile, hibernate file, system temp folders and temporary internet folders to see if that improves performance and/or reduces actual host writes data size.

I think there's a feature in the Intel ToolBox under management that TRIMs the drive manually. The software recommends running it once a week.

I read that Win7 lets you RAID the ReadyBoost. I would imagine a RAIDed ReadyBoost could boost SSD performance much like RAID0 anything boosts performance.

See my previous comment.

@jisaac: My 5400RPM 2.5" HDD writes 512KB at 50MB/s according to a manual WinSAT Disk test. The only benefit I see using that X25-V over my stock Toshiba from this Acer Aspire 1410 is the lower heat/power and impervious to physical shock/vibration.

 

About to manually TRIM here for the first time just to see how it works. I have a generation 2 Intel with the latest firmware and win 7 so it should already be trimming from what I understand.

My question is, how long should it take roughly? Is this an a 10 minute thing, hour thing, hours and hours thing?

 

Seconds.

10chars

 

Ok, you weren't kidding!

 

Just to be cheeky.

It should be seconds - but could take quite long on v1.2 if you had SystemRestore turned on - they might have fixed that now on version 1.3...

 

There's a 1.3 out? That is very relevant to my interests.

On a side note, I think I've decided. I'm ditching the Hitachi 7k500 and slapping in the Crucial 256M255 (or whatever the exact model is) into this laptop.

No kill like SSD overkill.

Anyway, to Crucial owners, how easy is the wiper-tool to use? I don't like the standard MS drivers because they make my eSata hotswap sporadic at best, and I don't mind running manual TRIM every week or so.

 

Yepp
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18455

I was just doubting my memory - but v1.1 was the one with the system restore issue, version 1.2 was the one with a fix - and I think v1.3 was meant to improve performance with SystemRestore turned on.

 

Well, in a roundabout way, I now own a Corsair NOVA 128GB SSD. And I am booting from it in my external dock (Vantec NexStar)

For some reason, it was not selling on Ebay, so I decided to keep it. I cloned my Win7 to it as I have no time at all for a fresh install, and it seems to be just fine.

The benchmarks are whatever they were on my last post awhile back, as it is the same drive. I am not even going to bench it this time, I am just going to follow the words of the immortal Dave Permen (I think) and simply USE AND ENJOY IT!

So, Les especially will appreciate all I have gone thru. I had an uptick in business while I was trying to sell the unit and figured what the heck, time to get with the program.

One thing I do notice and LOVE is that when I open a huge folder of photos, all thumbnails popup immediately, as opposed to watching them populate. SWEET!

So, starting tonight, my 1TB WD BLACK spinner will be relegated to its proper use... BACKUPS! How sweet it is.

Dave

 

Just so you know, I do love a good story.

My 256GB Crucial is coming on the 22nd. I keep telling myself it's a boneheaded decisions and that I should just sell it, but dammit.

 

Cape Consultant is your dock a usb 2.0 or usb 3.0? I want to test booting from an enclosure however I keep thing USB 2.0 on Intel GS45 Express chipset will be too slow. Booting from an SSD in an enclosure does have the helping hand of the low latency, I'm betting ReadyBoost actually helps booting from an external SSD via USB 2.0...maybe helps eSATA as well.

I don't know for certain but I'm guessing your NOVA will decrease in performance as all the cells get one pass of use?

 

Good news. Apparently Samsung has shaken off the growing pains of their flash business and developed a 20nm MLC process. This is very good news if it works for them. Well good news for us. This is technically smaller than Intel and Micron's upcoming flash line. Perhaps we'll get a real price battle for the next gen SSD drives afterall

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscent..._20nm_flash_memory_could_spark_price_war.html

 

It is Esata, so it is super fast! Highly recommended.

 

Forge is that the Crucial 300 with Sandforce? That should be a sweet drive. Hey, I figure someone has to lead into the future.

These SSD's are going to hit hard and heavy this year. I predict that even Staples will have one or two very soon.

Mine was bought with a credit card to sell for cash on Ebay. Bought 3, sold 2. Needed cash bad at that time, then business picked up. Not easy street, (but business picked up a good bit thankfully) I got pissed that I listed the last one 3 times and it did not sell, so the last time, I took it off early and decided to keep it.

So, that is the true story. Plus I figured it was about time I had one so I can start selling clients on the wisdom of paying me to install one for them )))))

Bottom line, I am liking it alot. Will it slow down? I hope not much as it has trim. And I am not about toi fill up all 120 usable GB's. But, on the other hand, I am not going to baby it either. If I want to write a few GB's here and there I will.

 

For $380? Haha, I wish. It's a M225 model. Still very fast for what I need, though, since my OS and main programs are on the Intel. It's mostly going to hold some games and some various media.

Haha. I did that with a batch of Intel 160GB G2s. Except I failed, because my profit was about $50. But hey, four NBR members get cheap Intels.

If you have TRIM, it should have no problems at all. And if you do notice it running slow, throw on a manual TRIM and there you go.

 

Whoops, did not see the 380, that wold have been a giveaway.

Yeah, I sold 2 and lost a bit after ebay fees, but was desperate. Still desperate, but not as

There is a definite boost in boot time and general things. It is really exciting to see the tech change so fast on these bad boys.

I owned many hard drives and will own many of these. It is my hobby. And helps for work too.

Whoops, gotta change sig again. Just sold the Dell and have a sweet custom build.

 

Congratulations!

I would say it's only for USB flash drives and media cards. Probably it's too slow for SSDs.

 

Not sure how you come to that conclusion.

Actually its great news FOR SSDs - and if you read the article its supposed to be faster

The first samples might not be, but it'll get there

 

Btw, the Crucial C300 drive uses a Marvell BJP2 controller.

 

Ah, my bad. I lost track of what uses what. Do you know if that controller compresses data like the Sandforce or if it is different?

I am extremely happy with my Corsair. In a way, even happier than when I was demoing an Intel G2. Cannot really say why.

But maybe because I like the way it "feels", or maybe because it was simply time for me, but I have this strange feeling that I will NEVER be going back

Now, again, I got to find some forward thinking clients who will pay me to install a nice SSD for them!

 

interesting find http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...h-stuttering-and-increases-drive-working-life parag.11 or so: "install Windows SteadyState (see http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47183), which converts random writes into sequential writes. )"

 

I found this on another site, looks interesting and seems fairly accurate. Any thoughts?

Taken from here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29698738&postcount=42

"Garbage collection sees blocks on the drive that are partially full and joins them with other blocks that are partially full so it "frees" up space for the drive to write to. Not doing so is why write speeds degrade over time. Garbage collection also wear levels the drive so different parts the the drive get written to equally so the drive doesn't wear out.

TRIM is when the OS tells the drive to delete a file, and tells it to cache the information that isn't being deleted from the block so the entire block can be erased and loaded with the information that is being kept. Without TRIM the block keeps the old data in it after it is deleted. "

 

Received my Crucial today and installed it beside the Intel. It's eerie to see a silent desktop replacement.

Anyway, I'm getting pretty abysmal numbers from the Crucial with the newest Intel IRST installed. (9.5.6). The Crucial got much better numbers with standard MS, but, like I keep on saying, I pretty much lose reliable eSata hotswap.

Benches below. Drive Z is the Crucial CT256M255, drive C is Intel 160GB G2, and D is a 5400 rpm WD Green desktop drive hooked up in an eSata enclosure. Drivers are IRST 9.5.6

 

Yes and the two also seem to be fairly similar dont they?

Remember we can write in 4kb pages yet only delete in 512kb blocks on an ssd so this is a very common thing and also explains where your pausing (originally) and present belief in performance degradation comes from in drives that are almost full. Luckily alot of drives are shipped now with additional storage that is not accounted for in the total count of available memory.

EDIT: With respect to garbage collection, I don't know but maybe that could be worded better because garbage collection is simply the process of lifting the information off of two blocks (simplest means of example), clearing both blocks and placing the combined info on one which frees the other.

Anyone can jump in to correct me if I have misinterpreted something of course eheheh.